


This Won't Take Long

by Lily_Ann_Dreyar



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Is Sunshine, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrinette | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Humor, Identity Reveal, Ladrien | Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Ladynoir | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng as Ladybug, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:26:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25609597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Ann_Dreyar/pseuds/Lily_Ann_Dreyar
Summary: Another Gabriel brand design competition takes a turn for the worst when one young designer isn’t happy with the judge's choice. Marinette is captured by the akuma Seamstress, but will Chat Noir be able to save her in time?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 18
Kudos: 190





	1. Two Hours Earlier

**Author's Note:**

> This is intended to be a 3-4 chapter fic, but guess which chapters are the only ones done? The first and last. Ugh. I'm hoping that getting this first chapter posted will encourage me to keep writing the middle parts. Comments, Kudos, and tag suggestions are appreciated and will likely motivate me to update faster! ;)  
> Shout-out to my friend Mouse for beta reading for me!  
> Peace!  
> ~Lily

When Marinette came to, the first thing she noticed was that she could barely breathe under the soft yet crushing weight that pressed down on her in absolute darkness. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest as she struggled to catch her breath. What was happening? Where was she? Was Tikki okay? Then everything came flooding back.

\--- Two Hours Earlier ---

“Girl, relax. You’re going to be amazing as always. Better yet, Adrien is here to witness your victory first-hand. Today could be the day he recognizes your astounding fashion talent and realizes he’s madly in love with you!” Alya faked a swoon as Marinette groaned and pulled on her signature pigtails.

Around them, several other students were gathered in designated places around the private lawn behind the building in downtown Paris that housed the headquarters of the Gabriel brand fashion company. The lawn had a cobblestone walkway branching throughout it, and booths had been set up at various points along the walkways for design students to use for the competition.

“That’s just it, Alya! What if I lose and Adrien witnesses my humiliation! I’ll never be able to face him again.” Marinette buried her face in her hands. “I’ll have to switch schools. No! Countries! I’ll have to move to England, but I’m so poor that I’ll have to swim the Channel to get there and my English is so bad that I’ll just end up homeless and living inside Big Ben!”

Alya gripped the other girl’s shoulder and shook her. “Marinette! Get a grip, it’s going to be fine. Look, here comes Adrien now. I bet he’ll give you some good encouragement. Yo, Adrien! Are you ready for this?” Alya called out as Adrien approached, intentionally ignoring her best friend’s panicked gasp.

“Hi, Alya! It’s good to see you. Marinette! I didn’t realize you were entering another of Father’s design contests. Is this the design you missed study group for this week?”

Marinette didn’t feel she could trust her voice in his presence and merely nodded with an awkward attempt at a smile plastered across her face.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah,” she stuttered out, “j-just a, abitnervousisall.” The words tumbled out of her mouth and she saw Alya cringe in sympathy behind Adrien’s shoulder. “I just hope it’s impressive enough that I don’t make a fool of myself.” She turned to cast a glance over the design on the mannequin beside her.

The black button-down blazer fell to about mid-thigh and was covered with embroidery in a bright green thread that perfectly matched the color of the buttons. The embroidery pattern depicted vines growing up from the hem of the sleeves to just above the elbow, and growing up from the bottom hem to just above the waistline. On the back, the vines grew further upward and gracefully curled in a circle around a fancy cursive capital G, the same as was the logo for the _Gabriel_ brand.

Maybe it was a little too close to schmoozing the judge, as Mr. Agreste himself was the main judge of the competition, but Marinette could live with that. After all, the first prize of the contest was that the designer’s jacket would be featured in _Gabriel’s_ next fashion show, barely one month away. Marinette was willing to turn out every trick and ounce of skill she could muster to make her dream come true.

Adrien smiled, a sight that warmed Marinette from the inside out. “It’ll be okay, your design looks great, I’m sure you’ll do well.” He nodded at the black-and-green jacket on the mannequin beside her. “I especially like that color scheme. It wouldn’t happen to have been inspired by a particular Parisian superhero, now would it?” And he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

He seriously just…wiggled…his…eyebrows.

Marinette could feel the blush rushing up her neck to cover her cheeks and ears.

“W-well, of co-course,” she managed, “I, I mean, a lot of the entries have been inspired by Ladybug and Chat Noir.” To prove the point, and move some of his direct attention off her, she swept an arm around at the other contestants waiting at various locations around the lawn. Like her booth, each had a small table for last-minute sewing work and a mannequin to hold the student’s design. Teenagers from all over France had traveled here to enter the competition, yet over half of the thirty entries were either ladybug or cat themed, in honor of Paris’s favorite heroes.

Adrien nodded, moving his eyes from one entry to another. “I still think yours has a better chance, though.” He leaned a little closer to her and pointed to one design in particular. “See that one? Honestly, I think she’s your closest competition, and that’s not saying much.”

She leaned slightly closer to him as she examined the other competitor, thoughts lost in analysis of the design. A girl perhaps a year or two older than Marinette with long, wavy brown hair leaned in close to the bottom hem, the jacket between her and them. Red-and-black polka-dot fabric draped loosely around the mannequin’s waist, fluttering in the slight breeze. On the back, tucked underneath the black collar and draped down the spine were two round pieces of fabric that looked like they were supposed to be wings, but the heavy fabric – had she really used faux leather? – seemed to weigh down the entire piece.

Adrien continued, “It’s definitely Ladybug themed, but she used clashing fabrics instead of matching ones for the wings and the collar. Father might admire the concept, but I don’t think it will be enough for her to win. She also used too lightweight of a fabric for the jacket. You can see the wings sagging from here.”

“She would have been better off designing it as a raincoat,” Marinette added, fingers holding her chin in thought. “If she used a heavier fabric for the jacket part, and a light gauze with a wire in the hem to hold the shape for the wings, it would have really been beautiful. She didn’t execute it very well, but her overall design is amazing.” I might try to make myself a raincoat in a similar design, she thought to herself.

She hummed as she thought it through, then snapped back to attention when she realized Adrien was grinning at her, and standing much closer than before.

“I like your analytical mind, Marinette. You’re going to be a great fashion designer one day, and not just because you’re good at it. Even when analyzing your competition, you can’t help but compliment her design. I think that’s amazing.”

Marinette felt her blush making a speedy comeback.

She quickly took a step away from Adrien, laughing nervously and determined to ignore Alya’s encouraging thumbs-up from behind Adrien. “Thanks, Adrien, that’s very say of you to kind. I mean, kind to say of you. I mean, thank you!” She waved her arms around frantically in her panic. “Not that it’s not great to talk to you, but shouldn’t you greet the other contestants, too? I wouldn’t want anyone to think I was getting special treatment or anything.” She rubbed the back of her neck, willing the blush to go away. But then she looked back at Adrien and immediately regretted her words.

Adrien tried his best to keep his smile up, but Marinette could tell that this was his model smile now, not the true Adrien grin she had been blessed with a moment ago. “Yeah, I should probably keep moving. I’m supposed to meet Nathalie at the stage soon to greet all the contestants, since I’ll be modeling the winning design. Will I see you guys after, though?”

Marinette’s mind was frozen, trying desperately to think of something to say to lift his spirits.

“Absolutely!” Thank the stars, Alya came to her rescue. Marinette’s best friend definitely earned the title, slinging an arm around Adrien’s shoulders from behind. “I just got a text from Nino that his family is grabbing dinner later at a cafe around the corner from here, so he’ll be able to meet us after, too. How about all four of us go out? We can celebrate Marinette’s victory!”

“Alya, I have to win first!” Marinette was frustrated by her friend’s overly exuberant optimism, but also couldn’t help smiling as she saw the light return to Adrien’s eyes.

“That sounds great! Marinette, you’re going to be amazing, with or without winning the competition.” He placed an encouraging hand on her shoulder before waving as he traveled off to the next booth. “I’ll see you guys later!”

Alya’s arm migrated to Marinette’s shoulder instead. “Girl! You were doing so well in the middle part there, what happened?”

“I don’t know, Alya, he was just so close to me all of a sudden, I panicked!”

Alya laughed, bending nearly in half, and Marinette was forced to support most of her friend’s weight. “He was standing close to you the entire time you guys were looking at that other girl’s entry and you didn’t even notice! Honestly, Marinette, you are such a space case sometimes, you know that, right?”

Marinette pulled her hands down her face with a groan. But before she could reply, a microphone tap was heard from the stage on the far side of the lawn. Nathalie was standing at the microphone, a tablet in her hands with Gabriel Agreste’s face on the screen and Adrien smiling beside her while waving at the crowd. “Everyone, your attention please,” Nathalie announced. “Designers, please cease all work on your designs at this point and clean your stations. The judging is about to begin.”


	2. The Competition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judging for the competition takes place. Someone isn't happy with the outcome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read the first chapter when I initially posted it, you may want to go back and re-read it before continuing with Ch. 2. I added a description of Marinette's jacket design in Ch. 1 because I couldn't find a good spot to put it in here without losing the flow too much. This chapter has a little bit of extra description of how she made it, but the actual what-it-looks like description is in Ch. 1. There's also a few links at the end of this chapter to show what some of my references for the design were.
> 
> Enjoy!  
> ~Lily

Marinette gulped. “Well, I guess this is it.”

Alya threw her arms around her friend, hugging tightly. “You’ve got this! I’ll be in the audience area cheering you on. Are your parents coming? I can wait with them.”

“No, Saturdays are the busiest day for the bakery, so I told them both to stay home. I’m going to call them after, though, and tell them how it went.”

“Okay, then. I’ll just watch from the audience area and come back here when it’s over.” Alya gathered up the purse she had put under the table at Marinette’s booth. “I’ll get out of your way. Don’t forget to clean all this up, girl. They said to clear your station before the judging. I wouldn’t want you tripping over your own scrap fabric.” She gestured at the leftover fabric and sewing supplies covering the table.

“I’m on it. I’ll see you later.” Marinette waved at her friend, then set her hands on her hips to evaluate the table. Black fabric pieces and small bits of bright green and black thread littered the tabletop, evidence of last-minute adjustments to her design. She tossed the fabric into her scrap bag that had been hidden under the table and gently placed leftover thread back into her sewing kit. Thread and fabric too small to salvage found themselves in a tiny trash can that had been placed in her booth for that purpose. Finally, Marinette had cleared her station and simply had to wait for the judges to make it to her booth.

Luckily her wait was short. Soon, Nathalie approached with Mr. Agreste’s tablet in hand and Adrien trailing behind her. Marinette did her best to return Adrien’s reassuring smile, then turned her attention to the tablet as Mr. Agreste greeted her.

“Hello, Miss…?” 

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, sir.” 

Adrien leaned his head into the view of the tablet. “Father, Marinette won your derby hat competition a few months ago, the one our school sponsored, remember?”

“Ahh, yes. I do, actually. You had a unique signature in the design, did you not? Have you continued that practice with this piece?”

Marinette grinned. “I have, sir. It’s in the embroidery. May I show you?”

“Of course. Nathalie, step closer. Miss Marinette, please tell me about your design.” 

“Yes, sir. The outer part of the garment is made from a black polyester and rayon fabric. That’s the part that I did the embroidery on.” Marinette turned the mannequin around to display the logo, then turned it around again and unbuttoned it to show the inside. “Then the inner lining is pure polyester. As you can see, I also used the embroidery to connect the two parts around the edge seams.” She gestured to the embroidery around the bottom hem on the inside of the jacket, then redid the buttons and reached for the right sleeve. “This is the technique I used to include my signature. If you simply look into the sleeves from the outside, you wouldn’t see it. However, if the wearer of the jacket held their right hand up to their face and pulled out the part of the sleeve in front of their wrist, they would clearly be able to read my name written in cursive in the embroidery along the seam.” To prove the point, Marinette held up the sleeve in question toward the camera for Mr. Agreste to see. Sure enough, the name  _ Marinette  _ could be read in elaborate cursive from the inside of the sleeve.

“Very well done, Miss Marinette. Did you do all that embroidery by hand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That must have taken quite a while.”

Marinette rubbed the back of her head, looking sheepish. “Yes, sir. I got better as I went along, though. Since I was doing the embroidery all by hand, I chose one basic style and stuck with it. If you look closely, all of the vines curl the same way and every leaf was made using the exact same sewing pattern. It still took a long time. If the design were ever able to be done professionally, I would recommend redesigning the embroidery, at least a little bit.”

“I appreciate your honesty about that. Is the color scheme intentionally Chat Noir themed?”

“Yes, sir. I wanted a subtle way to pay tribute to Paris’s heroes without being blatantly cat- or ladybug- themed, so I just stuck to using their colors.”

“That was a wise way to accomplish that. Your design would also still be easily transferable in style. You can create a variation on a theme, if you understand what I mean by that. The black and green is a good subtle nod to Chat noir, and it would be very easy to mimic the design in either red fabric with black embroidery, or black with red.”

“I agree, Mr. Agreste. I have a few designs in addition to this one that follow that line of thought. I liked the vines for the green thread and have tested out a few geometric patterns for a possibility of doing another jacket using Ladybug’s colors.”

“It’s good to know you’re thinking ahead, Miss Marinette. Keep up the good work. Nathalie, let’s move on to the next contestant.” 

“Of course, sir.” Nathalie walked away without waiting for Marinette’s reply. 

Adrien flashed Marinette a grin and double-thumbs up as he walked behind Nathalie. “He didn’t talk that much to other contestants,” he whispered hurriedly, “and he’s over half-way through. I think you have a good chance of winning this!” He waved as he hurried off to follow his father and Nathalie. 

Marinette’s head was spinning, from both the conversation with Mr. Agreste and the dazzling brightness of his son’s smile. A few yards away, in a roped-off section meant for spectators, her eyes managed to meet Alya’s. The other girl was grinning widely and pointing frantically to her phone. Marinette looked around for her own, eventually pulling it out of her sewing kit to read Alya’s message. 

**Alya:** _Well???? How do you think it went??? It seemed like he was talking to you for FOREVER!_

Marinette glanced up and smiled at her friend across the lawn, then typed back.

**Marinette:** _ I think it went well? As they left, Adrien told me he didn’t talk as long with other contestants as he did with me, so I guess that’s good? _

**Marinette:** _OH! And he remembered me from the derby hat competition, and that I had my signature on the design!!!_

 **Alya:** _OH MY GOSH!! That’s great!! Seriously, Adrien’s old man never seems to talk to ANYBODY unless he has to, so if he talked to you the most that has to be a good sign!!!_

Another microphone tap interrupted Marinette’s thoughts before she could respond. Nathalie and Adrien had returned to the stage. Mr. Agreste’s tablet was nowhere to be seen, and instead Nathalie held a clipboard in front of her. “Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to announce that Mr. Agreste has selected the competition winner. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, your design will be featured in  _ Gabriel’s  _ next fashion show at the end of the month and will be modeled by Mr. Agreste’s son, Adrien. Mr. Agreste will get in touch with you personally to make the arrangements.” 

She gestured to Marinette’s booth as people cheered. Marinette was screaming inside but waved shyly at the people gathered on the lawn. She could hear Alya’s shouts of praise from the crowd behind her and she grinned. 

Adrien gave her another big smile and thumbs-up from his position on the stage. Marinette felt her knees go weak, and she wasn’t sure winning the competition was the only cause.

“No!” A shout arose from one of the booths behind Marinette’s, and she turned around just in time to see the older girl from before dash off through the crown, sobbing into her arms as she clutched a few of her sewing supplies. Marinette felt a twinge of pity, but then Nathalie cleared her throat in the microphone and continued, unaffected by the girl’s display of emotion. 

“Mr. Agreste would like to thank you all for coming and competing. We look forward to the possibility of seeing many of you again next year. Contestants, please make sure your areas are completely cleaned when you leave. Thank you.” 

Marinette began gathering up her things to go meet Alya and Adrien for their celebratory cafe visit and made a mental note to call her parents from the cafe. But just as she had loaded everything into her arms, she heard screams. People were running from the competition area, rushing to get away from something -- no, someone -- who was walking toward the middle of the lawn. Someone who was walking right toward Marinette. Eventually, the crowd parted enough for Marinette to see what was happening. 

A loose red dress with black spots floated around the girl’s legs and black ladybug wings buzzed at her back. Her wavy light brown hair had turned black and her skin was ghostly pale. She held a pair of black scissors in one hand and swung it around periodically. Wherever she pointed, a beam of red light flashed. People all around were immobilized as they found themselves caught in new clothing that restricted their movements. Sweaters with no sleeves, long skirts with the bottoms sewn up, hats that covered faces and wrapped around shoulders. The victims fell over and struggled on the ground, trying to get free and escape.

Tikki, hidden safely in her purse throughout the afternoon, called from below, “Marinette, that sounds like an akuma attack!”

“I know, Tikki,” Marinette muttered, “but there’s too many people around. I can’t transform, and if she’s after me for winning the competition, I don’t know how I’ll get away!”

“Sophia!” a woman ran up behind the akuma victim, calling after her. “Sophia, it’s okay, there will be other competitions, darling. It’s okay!” Marinette guessed the woman must have been Sophia's mother. 

But Sophia turned around and pointed the scissors at her mother. With a burst of red light, the woman found herself wrapped in a scarf from head to toe. She tripped and fell onto the cobblestone walkway, struggling against the knit fabric.

“I’m not Sophia. I am Seamstress! I put hours of work into that design, but no one appreciated it. Now they’re going to pay. Where is Gabriel Agreste? Where is Marinette Dupain-Cheng?” Seamstress turned toward the stage. Adrien jumped in front of Nathalie with his arms flung wide, but just as Seamstress pointed her scissors at them, Nathalie pushed him off the stage. In another flash of red, Nathalie was enveloped in a pile of clothing. 

“Nathalie, no!” Adrien rushed back up, but the clothing Nathalie was buried under wouldn’t budge. 

Next, Seamstress looked around at the competitors’ booths on the lawn until her eyes met Marinette’s. Her eyes were completely black. She began walking leisurely toward Marinette.

“No one cares how long I worked on that design. No one cares that it’s my final year for this competition, my last chance to get Gabriel Agreste to notice my work.” She wasn’t shouting anymore, but her voice somehow carried to Marinette anyway. Those black eyes were entrancing. Marinette couldn’t make herself look away. She felt her arms go limp and her sewing kit, fabric bag, and garment bag with her jacket all hit the ground at her feet. “Miss Marinette. I’m going to make you care about my hard work. But don’t worry, this won’t take long.”

The last thing Marinette saw was a pair of black scissors shooting a beam of red light at her. She realized she had no time to dodge it.

The last thing Marinette heard was a familiar voice calling her name. But Chat Noir couldn’t have been at the competition, right?

All other thoughts were lost as everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone who might be wondering, the blazers at the links below were among my inspirations for Marinette's jacket. I think the embroidery is beautiful on both of them, though the silver one is a little over-the-top. We haven't gotten much info in the show about Marinette's range of skill so it gave me some creative license about what she's capable of. I also wanted to make sure it was believable, since she's only 15 and is crazy busy between normal life and saving Paris from Hawk Moth. Hopefully it doesn't seem too outlandish, but I also know we all believe our girl's skills are off the chain.  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/287597126174633171/  
> https://www.pinterest.com/pin/226446687493765871/
> 
> This fic was supposed to be a one-shot, then it turned into three chapters, now I'm really thinking it'll actually be 4. The rest of this is pretty well mapped out, so I'm fairly certain it'll stay at 4. Sometimes this is just how writing goes. 
> 
> Thanks to my friend Mouse for beta reading for me!  
> Let me know what yall think. Comments, kudos, and tag suggestions you might have are appreciated!
> 
> ~Lily


	3. Back to the Present

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir comes to the rescue, but can he stop punning long enough for them to get away from the Seamstress?
> 
> The short answer is no, he cannot.

\--- Present Moment ---

Now, Marinette lay on her back, fighting for air under the weight of what she could only assume was a giant pile of fabric and clothing generated by the power of the akuma. She tried pushing the fabric off of her. When that proved futile, she scrambled for her purse in a panic, grateful to feel it on the ground by her side. “Tikki,” she called, panting hard, “are you okay?”

Tikki phased out of the purse and brushed up against Marinette’s cheek in the darkness so her chosen would know where she was. “I’m fine, Marinette, but there’s no time to waste! We have to get you out of here to stop the akuma!”

“I know. Let’s do this! Tikki, Spots –"

“CATACLYSM!” The voice was loud but muffled by layers of magical fabric. He sounded close.

Tikki squeaked and dashed back into Marinette’s purse before she could transform. The fabric was dissolving around her, dissipating on the wind and floating down to the ground like ash. Marinette could breathe again, and she coughed and gasped for air, making sure not to breathe in any of the disintegrated fabric. Strong arms scooped her up and a warm body held her close. She held on tightly, still trying to catch her breath. It took her a moment to realize who must have been holding her.

“Chat Noir?”

“The one and only.” His voice was strong, but somber. It held no trace of its normal, teasing tone. “Don’t worry, Marinette. I’ve got you now.” He pulled back slightly and smiled, though it seemed unusually strained.

“But how --?”

“NO!” A voice nearby screeched, the sound echoing off the buildings around them. “Give her back, she has to pay for what she’s done!”

Several yards away from where Chat stood with her in his arms, Marinette saw the akuma approaching. A quick glance around showed her that all the other contestants and spectators had cleared the lawn. It was just them and the akumatized Seamstress now.

Chat Noir held Marinette tighter against himself. “If you want Marinette, you’re going to have to deal with me, first. But before that, you’ll have to catch me.” He took off running, bobbing and weaving around potted plants and small trees as he dodged red beams of light coming from the angered akuma that chased after them.

He stopped in front of one tree and paused, making sure he had her attention. When the akuma had turned toward his new position and began to approach, he stuck his tongue out at her, then turned his back and shook his tail in her direction. “Come on, slow poke. You can’t catch this cat!”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Marinette muttered, burying her face in her hands at his absurd antics.

“Augh!” The akuma shrieked and pointed her scissors at them again.

Chat dodged to the side, and Marinette saw over his shoulder that the tree they’d just been in front of was now wearing a pale pink cable knit sweater pulled tight around the lower branches and a mint green skirt wrapped around the trunk.

“You know, those outfits you’re making are really starting to _wear_ me out. That one doesn’t even _seam_ like it would fit me.” Chat Noir taunted the akuma as he dashed through the bushes, dodging red beams of light.

“Really? Puns at a time like this? And those were horrid!”

“I thought they weren’t too bad. I’ll keep trying till I put you in _stitches_ , Marinette.”

Over the screeching of the akuma behind them, Marinette suddenly heard a rapid beeping noise. She clutched at his shoulders. “Chat, you’re running out of time. You’ve only got three minutes left!”

“I know, but I’ve still got _sew_ much to do.”

“You ridiculous cat, you’re going to get yourself in trouble. Just find somewhere to put me down and get away before your transformation drops. I can run home on my own, and I’m sure Ladybug will get here soon to help you.”

His grip around her tightened, almost imperceptibly. He paused for a moment, hiding behind another tree to catch his breath and looked down at her. “Absolutely not. I’m getting you home myself. I’m just trying to buy some more time. You’re right, Ladybug should be here soon, and I want this akuma as worn out as possible to make things easier for my lady.”

Her partner’s conviction warmed her heart every bit as much as his stubbornness frustrated her. She was at least glad to hear that his galavanting around the lawn and provoking the akuma wasn’t just silliness. He actually had a plan to help her.

“Chat—”

She was cut off as an arm swung around the tree and a pair of black scissors jabbed into Chat Noir’s side. It seemed the Seamstress had caught up and was tired of just trying to hit them with her laser. Marinette felt Chat tense up as he took the blow just below his ribs, but they both went sprawling across the grass.

“Marinette!” Chat recovered quickly, but Marinette found herself dizzy and winded by the fall. She had no magic suit right now to protect her and was still recovering from being buried alive a few minutes prior. Chat Noir bolted to his feet, scooped the girl back into his arms, and used his baton to lift them onto a nearby building. A few rooftops later, he leapt down into an alleyway. Marinette heard the beeping again, this time five beeps.

Just as Chat Noir’s feet hit the ground in the alley, a bright green light surrounded him and they both collapsed onto the ground. Marinette heard the boy groan.

“Chat! Are you --?” She stopped as she looked up into a very familiar pair of green eyes. “A-Adrien?” Her mouth fell open in shock. Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste? Adrien was Chat? That was a lot to unpack.

“H-hey Marinette,” Adrien replied feebly. He tried to push himself up off the ground and groaned again, wrapping an arm around his side where Seamstress had stabbed him with her scissors.

Marinette stood and rushed to him. Freak out later, she told herself, and take care of my partner now. “Adrien, are you okay? What hurts? Can you stand?”

“I think so…most of my torso… and, maybe?” With Marinette’s help, he made it to his feet by leaning on her with an arm around her shoulder. He suddenly looked around frantically. “Plagg? Where’d you go? Are you alright?” A tiny black creature floated out from behind him and Adrien sighed with relief.

“Well this has been an adventure,” Plagg said in his tiny voice. “Hello, Marinette. It’s nice to officially meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you, from multiple sources.”

Adrien talked to his kwami about her? Wait, multiple sources? Marinette wondered if he meant Tikki. She remembered facing Dark Owl a few weeks ago and realized that Plagg most likely knew very well that she was more than just Adrien’s classmate.

“There’s some camembert in my pocket, Plagg, so eat up. When Ladybug gets here she may need my help again and I want to be ready.”

“Something tells me it won’t be an issue today,” Plagg responded vaguely as he dove into Adrien’s overshirt.

Marinette stared in wonder. She’d always wondered what Chat Noir’s kwami was like, and she was slightly shocked to find that he was absolutely nothing like Tikki.

Tikki! Marinette rested a hand on top of her purse. Should Marinette transform now? Her partner was injured and the akuma was still out there. Even knowing now that Adrien was Chat Noir, part of Marinette still felt she should keep her own identity a secret. But was there really any reason to, now? She wasn’t sure.

What should she do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be the last one. I've found I like writing short, fluffy things. I'm not good with angst and I definitely don't have anything super long in me. I may write other short fics and would love some prompts if anyone wants to throw some my way. 
> 
> Thanks to my friend Mouse for continuing to beta read for me! Even if you prefer angsty fics over my mostly fluffy ones, I still love you.
> 
> Let me know what yall think. Comments, kudos, and tag suggestions you might have are appreciated!
> 
> ~Lily


	4. A Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette wonders if it's worth revealing herself.   
> Adrien makes the decision easy.

“I was so worried when the Seamstress attacked you, Marinette.” Adrien’s words interrupted her frenzied thoughts, and she raised her eyes to examine his face. To examine Chat Noir’s face. He looked worn out, and she was still in a bit of shock from the revelation. But he still didn’t know the whole truth.

Adrien removed his arm from Marinette’s shoulder and turned to face her, leaning back on the hard brick of the alley wall. “I felt so useless when the akuma attacked Nathalie. I thought I could protect her, but then she pushed me off the stage. The fabric that covered her wouldn’t move. I couldn’t get it off and she wasn’t responding when I called to her. Then Seamstress went after you and… I was so scared.”

He reached a hand out and grabbed her shoulder. The gesture was very different from just a few hours before, when he had been encouraging her before the competition. It almost seemed like he was trying to convince himself she was actually here, actually safe.

Marinette didn’t know what to say. She raised a hand to his and gave it a comforting squeeze. He smiled.

“I managed to get away and transform, but Seamstress was still rampaging and I couldn’t get to you. Chat Noir’s claws got through to Nathalie and I got her out of there, after assuring her that Adrien was already safe.” He barked a humorless laugh, then clutched at his side and hissed in pain. 

Marinette took a step closer, grabbing his shoulders to steady him. “Adrien--”

“I’m okay,” he assured her, doing his best to smile. “Ladybug’s miraculous should heal this right up when she’s done with the akuma.” He glanced down the alley toward the  _ Gabriel  _ building, looking a little unsure. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” he murmured.

“If your claws cut through to Nathalie, why did you need to use your cataclysm to get to me? Aren’t you supposed to save that for emergencies?”

“It was an emergency,” he insisted. “Seamstress was coming back. She had moved to the far side of the lawn and was about to go out on the street. But I knew you were important to her and she might come back to check on you. I also knew you may be running out of time, since Nathalie had said it was hard to breathe under the fabric. So, I made sure the akuma saw me cataclysm the fabric covering you to get her attention and I got you out. Then, as you saw, I did my very Chat Noir best to keep her moving and wear her out, even knowing that I’d put myself on a time limit.” He rubbed the area below his ribs and smiled crookedly. “Though, it may have backfired a little bit.” 

Marinette stared at him in wonder. She knew Chat Noir was smart and that sometimes she didn’t give him enough credit, but that was a very clever plan. Protect the civilians and keep the akuma busy all while stalling for ladybug. He was brilliant. Well of course he was, she told herself. He’s Adrien!

Crap, he’d been stalling for Ladybug! Who still hadn’t shown up because she was too star-struck learning that her crush and her partner were the same person. Tikki hadn’t come out to yell at her to get moving yet, but she also felt a methodical bumping against her hip from the inside of her purse. Tikki didn’t have to talk to Marinette to communicate her agitation.

Screams tore through the air and both teenagers jumped in surprise, heads snapping to the opening where the alley met the street. Seamstress’s voice rose above the screams in the distance, calling Marinette and Chat Noir’s names. And it sounded like she was getting closer.

“Adrien, the akuma is still out there.”

“Yeah, but I don’t know where Ladybug is. Once she gets here, though, it’ll all be okay.” He was still breathing a little heavy, one hand clutching his side. He leaned his head back on the alley wall and his eyes fluttered shut. “She always takes care of everything,” he finished in a whisper.

Marinette touched his shoulder gently. “Adrien, you must be exhausted. You look dead on your feet. We should get you home.”

“No,” he said, opening his eyes and leaning forward suddenly, “I want to stay with you. You know, to keep reminding myself that you’re okay. Part of me is still worried the akuma will get you. She was pretty… vindictive.”

Marinette’s head buzzed. Should she force him home? He looked barely strong enough to stand. If she looped an arm around his shoulders, she could easily drag him away from the fight and lead him home. But then Seamstress would continue her rampage unchecked until Marinette was able to get back as Ladybug, and she’d already wasted too much time. She couldn’t even try to get him part way and then come back, because that would mean leaving Adrien – leaving Chat Noir -- defenseless in the darkening Paris streets with an akuma still on the loose.

No, Adrien was right. Only Ladybug could make this okay. Marinette knew what her decision had to be.

All this was through Marinette’s head in an instant. Adrien smiled up at her weakly and reached up to take her hand from his shoulder. “Come on, Marinette, let’s head to the bakery. It’s not far and I’m sure your parents are worried.” He raised her hand to his lips and Marinette wondered what special kind of idiot she must be for never having seen the resemblance between two of her favorite people before.

She smiled brightly back at him and couldn’t suppress a giggle that bubbled up from her heart as she squeezed his hand. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“We are, my kitty.”

His eyes grew wide and he squeezed her hand in return, staring in disbelief. Her smile grew wider as her heart warmed, even though more screams and the akuma’s shouts echoed in the distance. She had to move fast and get this battle over with. There was an important discussion to be had.

Marinette dropped his hand and took a slight step back deeper into the alleyway. The fading evening light made Adrien’s hair glow like a halo, and she knew he’d have the perfect view of her transformation in the light of the setting sun.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Pink light swirled around her. Adrien’s jaw hung open. Ladybug stepped forward and smiled at him once again. “Let me take care of this one, Chat Noir,” she told him, unclipping her yoyo.

She didn’t have the chance to react as the boy threw his arms around her shoulders. Adrien’s energy seemed to have returned quite suddenly. She hugged him back, burying her face in the crook of his neck as he placed a protective hand on the back of her head. She knew her reasons for keeping their identities a secret. Part of her still thought that she’d just made a mistake. But to the rest of her? This felt  **_right_ ** .

Adrien released her after a moment, moving his hands to her shoulders. “We are talking about this when you’re done, right… my lady?” He gave her the best Chat Noir grin he could muster.

She placed a hand over one of his and reluctantly withdrew from his embrace. “We will, I promise. Go to the bakery, it’s not far. Tell my parents what happened at the competition and that you needed somewhere safe to hide from akuma. Tell them that I’m right behind you. Don’t worry,” she told him with a wink, “this won’t take long.” She spun her yoyo and flew off into the sunset, looking forward to that conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yup, that's the end. My slight apologies for the battle scene cop-out, I didn't want to figure out how to choose a lucky charm and the ridiculously clever ways they get used. I also like to focus more on characters and relationships, so that was what I aimed to highlight with this fic, and the battle scene wasn't really relevant to that. The reveal conversation itself I also through would be fine left open-ended, because the heart of the reveal was already here in their discovery of each other. 
> 
> Thanks so much for the love and support! I have a few other Miraculous Ladybug fics I might start, but I'm also a 2nd-year graduate student and my semester starts in a few weeks, so some things might wait till Christmas break or even next summer. 
> 
> I love writing but don't get to do it like this often, so I'd appreciate any prompts or story ideas if anyone would like to see anything specific from me. I love character highlights and writing fluff, but not necessarily romance. 
> 
> Thanks again to my friend Mouse for beta reading this for me!
> 
> Love from a social distance,  
> Lily


End file.
